San Antonio remained among the top 20 U.S. metropolitan areas in economic performance during the fourth quarter of 2010, according to the latest Brookings Institution report released Monday.

Four other Texas cities were ranked among the top 20: Austin, Dallas, El Paso and McAllen.

San Antonio also is only one of four U.S. metropolitan areas that ranked among the top 20 during both the 2007-09 recession and afterward, indicating a relatively robust local economy. Two of the other cities also are in Texas, Austin and McAllen. The fourth is Hartford, Conn.

The institution's MetroMonitor report analyzes the nation's 100 largest metro areas, which account for three-fourths of the U.S. economy, using five indicators: employment, unemployment, output, housing prices and foreclosure rates.

In the fourth quarter, San Antonio employment rose 0.5 percent, while U.S. employment increased 0.1 percent. San Antonio's jobless rate in the fourth quarter was 7.3 percent, with the U.S. rate at 9.1 percent.

The San Antonio area's gross metropolitan product, or output, grew by 0.9 percent in the last quarter of 2010. The national economy grew by 0.8 percent.

San Antonio home prices remained level in the fourth quarter. Nationwide, house prices fell 1.2 percent. San Antonio's foreclosure rate was 2.43 per 1,000 houses in the fourth quarter. The U.S. rate was 4.23.

“We're starting to see metro areas recover, but jobs are recovering at a glacial pace,” said Howard Wial, a Brookings fellow and co-author of the report. “The performance of a metro area during the recession has not been a predictor of the strength of its economic recovery,” Wial added.

“It's a testament to smart business leaders working with the local political leadership to move the city forward and to the wise decisions on the type of businesses and jobs we're creating here,” Perez said.